Polish Texans

Established on November 19, 1870 the second Roman Catholic parish in Washington County, Texas, St. Mary's in Brenham, has evolved over the last century and a quarter into a congregation of over 1,000 families. A projected growth of an additional 500 families is expected by the turn of the century.

The parish was founded and supported by Irish, German and Polish Families who were engaged in a variety of business in the early days of Brenham's history. By the early 1870s, a number of farmers, themselves Polish immigrants, began settling in the vicinity of Brenham and began attending St. Mary's.

Over the years, St. Mary's has been the spiritual home of Catholics of Anglo, German, Czech and Hispanic backgrounds. It is the oldest spiritual home to Polish families in the county. In these last years of the twentieth century, St. Mary's has welcomed immigrants from Viet Nam and the Philippines.

The Early Years "Spann's Settlement" at Hidalgo Bluff

It was near Independence that the first Catholic mission in Washington County was founded, In the northeastern corner of the county, on the banks of the Brazos River at a point called Hidalgo Bluff

It was near Independence that the first Catholic mission in Washington County was founded, In the northeastern corner of the county, on the banks of the Brazos River at a point called Hidalgo Bluff

The first reference to the mission at Hidalgo Bluff was made in the 1849 Catholic Directory. The entry listed the mission as being under the care of priests from Sts. Peter & Paul Parish in Frelsburg, Texas.

This fact can be substantiated by perusing a bound volume of sacramental records for St.. Peter & Paul Parish which is resident in the Catholic Archives of Texas at Austin.

In 1854, Fr. John Gonnard was assigned to Spann's Settlement in Washington County by the Most Rev. John Odin, first Bishop of Galveston. This was one of only fifteen sites in Texas to be sent a resident priest. In a letter (presumably written in 1961) Fr. Gonard alludes to having ministered to Catholics in Brenham, Washington, Anderson, and Wheelock. From this mention, it can also be assumed that the Catholic community in Brenham was still transient between 1854 and 1861. Fr. Claude Jacquet was sent to assist Fr. Gonnard in 1861, with both being transferred to different locations in 1862. Following their departure, it seems that a missionary, Fr. Sebastian Augagneur, was sent from Sacred Heart Church in Nacogdoches, Texas to minister to the faithful at Hidalgo Bluff. An LDS microfilm of the sacramental records of Sacred Heart in Nacogdoches reveal that F. Augagneur baptized three children in Washington County on June 26, 1861.

Bishop Odin continued to send European seminarians to live with the Spanns a Hidalgo Bluff, where the family helped the young men to learn English. One of the seminarians, John Bellaclas, was even ordained by Bishop Odin in the plantation chapel on January 1, 1865. Fr. Bellaclas stayed at Spann's Settlement through 1867. He was followed by Fr. Jean Louis Bussant, who served there from 1867 until 1869. There is no mention of any priest being assigned to Hidalgo Bluff after Fr. Bussant. Civil marriage records in Washington County indicate that Fr. Bussant conducted the marriages of three couples during his tenure in the county. One other marriage in the county during that time period indicated the presence of a Catholic priest, namely Fr. V. Gury of Frelsburg.

The Early Years-Latium

During this point in time (ca. 1866), Czech settlers began moving into the southwestern corner of Washington County, establishing the community of Latium. The first priest to minister to the Czech Catholics there was Fr. Krc who offered masses in the homes of farmers in the community. By 1872 Fr. Joseph Cromcik came to Latium on a quarterly basis from his parish a Fayetteville. In the later part of the century, Polish immigrants also attended church a Latium.

St. Mary's-Brenham

On November 19, 1870, brothers Benjamin Harrison Bassett and Thomas Jefferson Bassett deeded an acre of land to the Most Rev. Claude Marie Dubuis, second Bishop of Galveston, for the purpose of establishing a parish in Brenham.

On November 19, 1870, brothers Benjamin Harrison Bassett and Thomas Jefferson Bassett deeded an acre of land to the Most Rev. Claude Marie Dubuis, second Bishop of Galveston, for the purpose of establishing a parish in Brenham.

Fr. McSweeny has been credited with being St. Mary's first resident pastor, but this seems unlikely. Referring again to the four baptisms entered by Fr. McSweeny into the Sacred Heart records, he is found in Brenham on February 12,1871. No other entries were made until Fr. J.N. Leonard transcribed the four entries into his records and began to add to them on February 4, 1872. Additionally, the civil marriage records of Washington County list Fr. McSweeny as minister to only four marriages, two on November 13, 1870, one on February 6, 1871, and another on February 9, 1871.

This information leads us to believe that Fr. McSweeny served as missionary to Brenham for a time, but was still pastor of the parish at Nacogdoches while St. Mary's in Brenham was being formed.

St. Mary's first church was built in either late 1871 or early 1872. A copy of a note in the St. Mary's file at the Catholic Archives of Texas tells us that Mr. Thomas Dwyer, a Founding member of the parish, loaned "the Catholic Church of Brenham" the sum of $654.00 at 10 percent interest for furnishing the church.

Things seemed to have settled down a bit in 1872. The civil marriage records of Washington County tell us that only one wedding was officiated by a Catholic Priest. It took place on February 1, 1872 and "Fr. J. Quirat, Catholic Priest" is listed as the minister. The next Catholic marriage took place on January 7, 1873 and list "J.N. Leonard, Catholic Priest" as the officiate. Once again, consulting the sacramental records of Sacred Heart in Nacogdoches shows Fr. Leonard as having baptized a number of children in Washington County during 1872 and 1873. Only one entry is not his and notes a Fr. Chandy administering the sacrament of baptism.

The history of St. Mary's parish which appeared in the Diocese of Galveston's Centennial book states that a Fr. Mernard followed Fr. McSweeny as pastor. This writer can find no mention of a Fr. Bernard anywhere in the sacramental records pertinent to St. Mary's no does any such name appear in the civil marriage records of Washington County, Texas. It is this writer's belief that Fr. Leonard became Fr. Bernard as his name was passed orally from one generation to another.

From May 7, 1873 until November 10, 1875, the civil marriage records of Washington County tell us that Fr. V. Gury and Fr. M. Weinzapflen from Frelsburg and Fr. Joseph Chromcik were officiating at weddings in the area. About 1871, small groups of Polish families began moving to the area around Brenham. Some of these families had been part of the Second Wave of Polish emigration to Texas in 1867. By the early 1870, they had fulfilled their three-year work agreements with their plantation-owner sponsors, had repaid their sponsors for travel expenses and were now free to settle anywhere they wished.

Some of these families had been part of the Second Wave of Polish emigration to Texas in 1867. By the early 1870, they had fulfilled their three-year work agreements with their plantation-owner sponsors, had repaid their sponsors for travel expenses and were now free to settle anywhere they wished.

This would indicate that the Brenham church had been built as a focal point for the young Catholic community, as a place where masses and the sacraments could be celebrated whenever a missionary did come through the township.

On March 12, 1875, Bishop Dubuis ordained Jozef Mosiewicz to the priesthood, the fourth Pole to be ordained in Texas. By July 16, 1876, he was appointed pastor of St. Joseph's Parish at Marlin, and was assigned to the missions at Brenham and Bremond. His handwritten volume of sacramental records provides us with an excellent overview of the families present and active in St. Mary's Brenham during his pastorate. The book entitled Liber Baptisatorum, Copulatorum et Mortworum, in Misione Brenham comisia mihi a die 15a Julii ani 1876, ac in Marlin et Brenham etc, a die 1-maji ani 1877 Josephus Mosiewicz Pastor Eccla Marlinensis, is resident in St. Mary's Parish at Bremond. It has been microfilmed by the Catholic Archives of Texas and has been indexed by Teana Sechelski of the Polish Genealogical Society of Texas. The first twenty entries in the book are for the Brenham congregation.

It was in 1881 that St. Mary's first resident pastor arrived. The Rev. Vincent Wiliamowicz can be credited with being the first pastor of the Brenham parish to actually live here.

It is with his advent that our parish sacramental records begin, with an entry for a baptism on January 7, 1881 for Sophie Mary Zientek, daughter of John Zientek and Rozalia Nee Szach.

Fr. James Grabinger came to Brenham in 1885 and became a naturalized citizen in the county on October 11,. 1889. It was he who established St. Stanislaus in Chappell Hill as a mission of Brenham. A large number of Polish Immigrants had settled in the fertile Brazos River bottom in Chappell Hill, warranting a parish.

It was he who established St. Stanislaus in Chappell Hill as a mission of Brenham. A large number of Polish Immigrants had settled in the fertile Brazos River bottom in Chappell Hill, warranting a parish.

Fr. Adam Laski followed Fr. Grabinger in 1890 and served the parish until 1895. He was followed by Fr. Francis Pridal, who in 1896 constructed the second church for St. Mary's parish. The wooden Gothic edifice was designed by the noted Texas-Catholic architect, Nicholas Clayton. After Fr. Pridal left Brenham, the parish was tended to by Fr. Francis Machan.

Fr. Ignatius Joseph Szymanski arrived in Brenham in 1902 and established the first parish school. Prior to that time, local oral history states that the parish provided teachers who traveled from farm to farm providing lessons in catechism and the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic. The school was housed in the first church building and employed laymen as teachers. In 1908, Fr. William John Skocek came to Brenham and stayed for a year or so. He was followed by Fr. Marcus Dombrowski.

Fr. Dombrowski was greeted with a bit of a problem. In 1909, the non-Polish Catholics established their own school and chapel, refusing to worship or attend school with the immigrants. Led by Mary Dwyer Ross, the group engaged the Dominican Sisters to teach in their school, St. Agnes-Sacred Heart Academy, which ultimately closed due to low attendance and financial difficulties. It is interesting to note that the school was housed in the same building which had housed the first public high school in the State of Texas. It is furthermore interesting to note that oral history states that when attendance levels began falling, Mrs. Dwyer-Ross began recruiting Polish children to augment the school's census.

In 1910, Fr. Michael Joseph Tabor arrived. During his pastorate, he began planning the expansion of St. Mary's facility. He purchased property for the establishment of a wagon-yard for families to park their buggies, wagons and horses during church attendance. On January 17,1915, he requested the Sisters of Divine Providence in San Antonio to take charge of the parish school. In October of 1915, Sr. Mary Conrad and Sr. Mary Edward arrived in Brenham and began teaching 42 pupils. By the end of the first school term, enrollment has reached 104 students. Sr. Mary Edward was replaced by Sr. Mary Laurentia, and, in August of 1916, St. Mary Annette arrived in Brenham, raising the total number of teaching sister to three. The school was, at that time, expanded to seven grades.

On July 1, 1917, Fr. Leonard Dykal became pastor. His 1920 Annual Report to the diocese states that there were 138 Polish families in the parish, as well as one Mexican family and one Bohemian family. There were 8 boys and 17 girls making their First Holy Communion; 33 boys, 52 girls and 1 gentleman received the sacrament of Confirmation, five children and three adults were buried, 12 couples were married and none of them were "mixed" ...meaning that no Poles had married non-Poles, not that Catholics had married non-Catholics.

In June of 1924, St. Mary's met it's most dynamic, most colorful pastor to date, the Rev. Charles Weisnerowski. His first order of business was the construction of a new school

In June of 1924, St. Mary's met it's most dynamic, most colorful pastor to date, the Rev. Charles Weisnerowski. His first order of business was the construction of a new school

The church was consecrated on May 3, 1936 The entire project cost in the neighborhood of $100,000.

The building we today commonly call "the old rectory" was built in 1942.

St. Mary's first assistant pastor arrived in 1949. Fr. Clyde Holtman, who was followed by a Brenham native, Fr. Harry Mazurkiewicz. Fr. Marion Atomanczyk followed him and a third priest was added to St Mary's staff, Fr. Fred Nachtigall.In 1950, Fr. Charles built a new home for the sisters. In 1953, Fr. Charles became Monsignor Charles when he was raised to the dignity of Domestic Prelate. Following a trip to visit his family in Poland, Msgr. Charles returned to Brenham very ill.

Msgr. Charles died on September 10, 1964. Following funeral rites in Brenham, he was returned to Starogard, Poland for burial.

Fr. Fred Nachtigall became pastor of St. Mary's and began to usher in the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. He remained here until 1966.

August 27, 1965 was the 51st birthday of Rev. Floyd Biel (Bielamowicz), and was also the day he arrived in Brenham to assume his duties as pastor. Much like Msgr. Charles, Fr. Biel began a renovation program in the parish. Air conditioning and restrooms were added to the church. More land was purchased and employed as a parking lot. He saw to the placing of carpet in the church and the padding of pews, along with painting its interior. Fr. Thomas Hanus came to serve as assistant pastor in June of 1966 and after three years, was followed by Fr. Patrick Murphy whose tenure lasted some 9 months. Fr. Biel organized St. Mary's first Confraternity of Christian Doctrine program in 1967. On May 25, 1970, St. Mary's school was closed and Sr. Mary Paul Valdez of the Missionary Catechists of Divine Providence was engaged to supervise the C.C.D. program. Fr. Marion Atomanczyk returned to Brenham as assistant in 1970 and was followed by Fr. Roman (Ray) Widacki.. May 9, 1980 saw Fr. Biel become Monsignor Biel, as he was raised to the dignity of Domestic Prelate. In 1981, Msgr. Biel purchased the land south of St. Mary's, where the Alamo School was located. The building was razed and plans were under way for the construction of a parish center. Msgr. Biel never saw that dream realized...he died of September 16, 1982.

Back for the third time, Fr. Marion Atomanczyk arrives as pastor of St. Mary's on October 19, 1982. He appointed a Building and Improvement Committee to begin planning the building which Msgr. Biel had envisioned. The edifice would be completed during the next pastorate. However, Fr. Marion established our first "folk" choir. During his tenure here, he was aided by seminarians Pete Negrette, Richard Tijerina, and Jim Chamberlain. Shortly after he moved to his next assignment, Fr. Marion was made Monsignor Marion.

Fr. Ralph Brennan arrived in Brenham to assume the office of pastor on June 20, 1985. Shortly after his arrival, Richard Tijerina was ordained to the priesthood and returned to Brenham as Fr. Richard, Fr. Ralph's first assistant in Brenham. Other assistants included seminarians John Boiko (now Fr. Boiko), Thomas Nitschke (later Fr. Nitschke), Fr. Ryszard Golch, Fr. Timothy Vaverek and David Williams. Rev. Mr. William (Bill) Januszewski, who is our first permanent deacon, assists Fr. Ralph on a regular basis. Just like his predecessors. Fr Ralph began improving the buildings in the parish. He saw to the repair of the church, enlargement of the rectory, renovation of the school building, renovation of the former convent (now "Providence Hall"), and the construction of the parish Activity Center. The annual Polish Heritage Festival began at Fr. Brennan's suggestion. He has begun the restoration of the church's sanctuary, has installed a pipe organ, is planning the addition of a Marian Shrine and prayer garden. Plans also include the renovation of the "old rectory" and a new playground. Also, like his predecessors, Fr. Ralph is Monsignor Ralph.

Religious Vocations

The Training in the parochial school, the church and the home resulted in many religious vocations. Thirteen young ladies entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Divine Providence. Eleven young men became priests. Two young men became Brothers: Valerian Kloginski, O.F.M. became a Franciscan Brother and Albin Golla became Bro. Christopher Golla with the Montfort Missionaries. Native son Bill Januszewski was ordained as a permanent deacon in the Salt Lake City Diocese and is currently serving St. Mary's In Brenham.

Sisters Matthew Twardowski, Jan Maria Wozniak, and Barbara Clara Bednar withdrew.

The Parish Cemeteries

St. Mary's has two parish cemeteries: St. Mary's and Calvary. Although they adjoin one another, they are separate and are located just west of Blinn College. The original cemetery, St. Mary's, was established in the 1880s with land (246 ft. by 240 ft.) donated by Frank Evansich. Mr Evansich was buried in the parish cemetery November 1888.

Per the death records the first person buried in the parish cemetery was Magdalena Zientek on September 7, 1882.

There two priest buried at St. Mary's: Fr. Bruno Skweres in 1977 and Fr. John Taranowicz in 1938.

In 1948, Tony Kopycinski donated the land (486 ft, by 375 ft) for Calvary Cemetery which is located on the west side of St. Mary's Cemetery. Mr. Kopycinski chose to pay for his family plots like everyone else. In the late 1970s, Father Biel purchased additional land which adjoins Calvary on the north (246 ft. by 384 ft.).

There are four priests buried at Calvary Cemetery: Msgr. Stanley Zientek, Fr. Edward Murski, Msgr. Floyd Biel, and Msgr. John Wesolek. Prior to 1888, Catholics were buried in the Prairie Lea Cemetery.